Toy airplane



Julyll, 1939. Y J, H r 2,166,068

TOY AIRPLANE Filed Dec. 1, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet l July 11, 1939. .1. L. HUNT TOY AIRPLANE Filed Dec. 1, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 11, 1939 PATENT OFFICE TOY AIRPLANE John L. Hunt,

Application December 1,

12 Claims.

This invention relates to a toy airplane, and more particularly, to a metallic toy airplane made of an aluminum alloy or other light metal which due to its stability and extremely light 5 weight will actually fly by means of a rubber or other elastic motor.

Heretofore metallic toy airplanes, such as disclosed in Patent 3 5, June 2, 1936, of which I was the inventor, have been expensive to manufacture because of the large number of parts needed and because of the great number of operations required in their assembly.

It is the object of the inventor to produce a more stable, sturdy, and much less expensive toy airplane which will actually fly.

It is the object of the inventor to eliminate all rivets, struts, wires, and other unnecessary brackets and clips.

It is the further object of the inventor to simplify the construction of the wings, fuselage, landing gear and tail skid as will be disclosed in the accompanying more specific description and drawings of which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the assembled toy airplane.

Figure 2 is a pattern sketch for the upper half of the fuselage with tail planes integral therewith.

Figure 3 is a pattern sketch of the lower half of the fuselage.

Figure 4a is a pattern sketch for the landing gear clip.

Figure 4 is a view of the landing gear clip partially formed.

Figure 5 is a pattern sketch of the front wing.

Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal section through the center of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, it is seen that the invention is of such simplicity of design and detail as to be inexpensively manufactured and quickly assembled in production, or easily assembled by a child who might buy a kit containing the several formed parts of the toy airplane.

The lower half ll of the fuselage shown as a stamping in Figure 3 is formed into a semicircle and fastened to the upper half l2 of the fuselage by means of the tabs 13 which are inserted within and bent over the cutouts M in the upper half E2 of the fuselage.

Prior to folding down the tabs I3, the front plane or wing l5 with a cambre is centrally disposed within a channel formed by the indented portion lb of the lower half of the fuselage. The front or main plane properly bent along the dotted lines l5 to form a lateral dihedral angle Detroit, Mich.

1938, Serial No. 243,417

for stability, is firmly held within the fuselage when the tabs I3 are bent over to coincide with the overlapping portions ll of the upper half I2 of the fuselage, bent along the lines I1.

The landing gear I8 is fixed to the lower half of the fuselage by means of a clip 19, the latter being properly bent along the dotted lines 20 and 2|. The tab portion 22 of the clip I9 bent degrees along the dotted line 23 provides a means for fastening the landing gear to the lower half of the fuselage, the forward portions of the fuselage being slipped within and firmly held by the said clip. The cutout portion 24 in the lower half of the fuselage is designed to receive the tab portion 22 of the clip 19 to prevent lateral movement thereof.

Holes 25 in the landing gear strut or lower portions of the clip l9, comprising the landing gear, journal the wire shaft 25 from which the wheels 2'5 are suspended and held. 20

The landing gear i8 is further prevented from longitudinal movement by means of the wooden nose piece 28 which is secured to the fuselage, the portion with reduced diameter being fitted within the open end of the said fuselage.

The wire propeller shaft 29, looped over the propeller blade 38 and loosely journaled within the nose piece 28, is looped at 3| in the form of a hook to retain the elastic or rubber motor 32. The propeller shaft is journaled within a centrally disposed channel formed in the propeller blade to insure that the former is always in proper relation to the latter. Tiny metallic washers M are used on the propeller shaft between the propeller and the nose piece. 35

Tall planes or horizontal stabilizers 33 at the other end of and integral with the upper portion I2 of the fuselage are bent along the line 33' at a negative angle for stability.

The vertical stabilizer or rudder 34 at right angles to the tail planes is fixed to the upper half of the fuselage by means of a metallic extension or hook 35, a part of the rudderl, which is inserted Within the narrow slot 36 of the upper half of the fuselage. The rud- 45 der is further held against rotation by means of its arcuate extension 31 which is integral with the said rudder. This extension which also acts as a tail skid, fits securely within the grooves 38 and 39 in the upper and lower por- 50 tions of the fuselage. Not only does the arcuate extension act as a tail skid but also as a means for securing the other end of the elastic loop of the toy airplane motor.

The metallic propeller 30 is held in fixed relation to the propeller shaft by means of a wooden spinner it which is partially split to receive and tightly hold the propeller blade. To prevent possible lateral movement of the spinner with respect to the propeller blade, the latter is perforated centrally to provide a frictional contact with the said spinner.

It is to be noted that the inventor has provided a toy airplane structure in which all rivets and wire supporting struts are eliminated, at the same time in no way diminishing the stability thereof.

It is further to be noted that the tail planes and upper portion of the fuselage being all in one piece, greatly reduces the amount of handling and consequently the cost of manufacture.

Additional advantages are noted in the inventors novel tail vertical stabilizer which tightly fits to the fuselage without any rivets and performs three separate functions, which include a tail skid and means for holding the end of the rubber motor.

It cannot be overlooked that by eliminating all wire supporting struts, all rivets, all unnecessary parts, as shown, contrasted with applicants prior invention disclosed in Patent 412,042,715, June 2, 1936, it is unescapable that applicant now has produced a novel toy airplane structure which not only weighs considerably less, but costs less to manufacture and is more stable.

Now having described the invention hereof, reference should now be had to the claims which follow for determining the scope thereof.

I claim:

1. A metallic toy airplane comprised of a fuselage, propeller, nose piece, front wing, tail planes, vertical stabilizer, landing gear, and elastic motor, the vertical stabilizer being provided with an arcuate extension at the base thereof to hold the said stabilizer in place, to act as a tail skid, and further, to provide means for securing the clastic motor.

2. A metallic toy airplane comprised of a fuselage, propeller, nose piece, front wing, tail planes, vertical stabilizer, landing gear, and elastic motor, the landing gear being comprised of a tab portion integral With the struts, which when bent one hundred eighty degrees, provides a clip for fastening same to the lower portion of the fuselage which is provided with a cutout portion to receive the said clip and prevent lateral movement thereof, held in place by means of the nose piece in tLnn held by the rubber motor.

3. A metallic toy airplane comprised of a fuselage, propeller, nose piece, front wing, tail planes, vertical stabilizer, landing gear, and elastic motor, the front wing being in one piece and firmly held in place by the upper and lower portions of the fuselage.

i. A landing gear structure for a toy airplane comprised of a formed clip having two struts depending therefrom at an angle, the struts being pierced to receive and journal the axle from which the wheels are suspended and held, a tab portion centrally disposed and integral with the struts bent back upon itself approximately one hundred eighty (180) degrees, within which the lower edge of the fuselage is inserted on assembly, the landing gear being further held in place by means of the rubber motor which on assembly of the toy airplane coacts with the nose piece.

5. A landing gear structure for a toy airplane comprised of two struts, an axle journaled within pierced portions of said struts, wheels suspended therefrom and held in place by suitable means, a tab portion centrally disposed and integral with the struts bent back upon itself for attaching said structure to a fuselage.

6. A vertical stabilizer structure consisting of a stamped or cutout portion, a forward extension forming a part thereof to be inserted within an opening in the top of the toy airplane fuselage on assembly, an arcuate portion integral with the said stabilizer which cooperates with the forward extension and the fuselage in securing the rudder or stabilizer to the said fuselage, the arcuate portion functioning further as a tail skid and as means for retaining the rubber motor of the toy airplane when assembled, the rubber motor at the same time acting to hold the horizontal stabilizer in place.

7. A vertical stabilizer for a toy airplane comprised of a forward extension to be held within the fuselage, an arcuate portion which cooperates with said extension to secure said stabilizer to the fuselage in conjunction with the elastic motor forming a part of a toy airplane.

8. The combination with a two-piece fuselage, propeller, nose piece, wing, vertical stabilizer, tail planes integral with the upper portion of the fuselage, and an elastic motor, of a landing gear structure comprised of two struts, an axle journaled through pierced portions therein, wheels suspended therefrom and held in place by suitable means, a tab portion centrally disposed and integral with said struts bent back upon itself for attaching said structure to a fuselage.

9. A metallic toy airplane comprised of upper and lower halves of a fuselage, fastened together by tabs of the lower half inserted within and folded over cut-outs in the upper half, a propeller, nose piece, wing, tail planes integral with the upper half of the fuselage, elastic motor, vertical stabilizer, and landing gear consisting of two struts, an axle'journaled through pierced portions therein, wheels suspending therefrom, a tab portion centrally disposed and integral with the struts bent back on itself for attaching the landing gear to said fuselage.

10. The combination with a fuselage, propeller, nose piece, tail planes integral with said fuselage, vertical stabilizer, landing gear and elastic motor, of a one piece wing firmly held in place between the upper and lower portions of said fuselage,

11. A metallic toy airplane comprised of a two piece fuselage, propeller, nose piece, a one piece wing, tail planes integral with said fuselage, a vertical stabilizer cooperating therewith and having an arcuate portion extending beneath said fuselage, an elastic motor and a landing gear with axle and wheels disposed from depending struts and a clip, said clip being bent back upon itself for attaching the landing gear to said fuselage.

12. A metallic toy airplane comprised of a twopiece fuselage, propeller, nose piece, wing, tail planes integral with the upper portion of said fuselage, landing gear, elastic motor, and a vertical stabilizer provided with an arcuate extension in the base thereof to hold said stabilizer in place, to act as a tail skid, and further, to provide means for securing the elastic motor.

JOHN L. HUNT. 

